mercedesbenz | LENSPEED

Wagon Appeal

By Team Lenspeed

Stretch your imagination and you might derive plenty of fun in a couple of Lenspeed’s favourite wagons

Estates – a variant usually shunned by locals for being aesthetically unappealing usually tend to fall right smack under Lenspeed’s radar. No, we’re not challenging the “norm” for the sake of it. Rather, there are a couple of wagons that are of worthy mention – most of them never made their way to Singapore. We’re usually tempted to focus our attention to Q-cars in sedan guise, but going one step “further” to elevate its exclusivity and understated charm by opting for a wagon can reap decent rewards, too.

Audi RS 6 (C5)

The Audi RS 6 (C5) was a stab right in the heart of supercar owners. Introduced in 2002, the twin turbo V8 motor gathers 450bhp and sprints to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds. That’s splitting fast even by modern day standards. Whats more impressive to us is the level of dedication placed to differentiate the Avant from non “RS” models. Honeycomb grilles and flared wheel arches serve to remind us that this Bahnstormer means serious business. Even then, the fact that it fits five in supreme comfort suggests that most will still write it off as a regular people carrier. Until…

Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Estate

Most will shrug off naturally aspirated applications in a wagon due to its “lack” of low-end torque, but when it comes to the 6.2-litre M156 AMG V8, the issue on torque gaps can be forgiven. With respect to this motor, the fun lies in going full-on with the throttle and then revel in the delight of a smooth, power delivery accompanied by an addictive bent-V growl. And we reckon it can produce a meatier exhaust note due to its heavier kerb weight. In a transition period where other models in AMG’s stable were switching to the 5.5-litre M157 twin turbo V8, AMG stuck deep with the M156 in the C wagon – and this is precisely why Lenspeed found it desirable. High revving NA wagons sounds like a thing of the past, but there are still a couple of them roaming in Singapore if you’re lucky enough to spot them.

We might prefer cars with a chassis that is more playful than capable, but we also understand that there is fun to be had when hooning a properly fast wagon through the straights. It won’t be the most precise driving tool, but this blend of lethal supercar performance wedged in a functional wagon shell is more than sufficient to place these two estates into Lenspeed’s list of cars to drive.

What are your thoughts on performance wagons? Leave your comments below!

Your favourite Mercedes-Benz SL?

By The Lenspeed Team

We at Lenspeed have been looking at Mercedes SLs a lot lately. We thought about which SL we’d pick for ourselves.

Without question, the Gullwing era SLs are already collectors’ items and out of reach of most of us here in Singapore. So that’s out of the question.

The Pagodas (W113) are probably the most beautiful of the lot that is still “attainable”, which means that if you’re a less sensible sort you could still buy one. But again, it’s well above S$240,000 in today’s market and that’s a mighty amount to pay. Plus these seem to be less reliable than the later SLs.

The W107 or Panzers spell of 80s excess and the ribbed bottom designs look pretty dated these days. But they can be had for reasonable money and even the basic 280SLs are pretty sprightly. For some reason however, the looks just aren’t as timeless as the W113s…

Which brings us to the R129. Funny model, this. I test drove one with my dad a couple of years ago, and absolutely loved the idea of a Mercedes roadster with an auto retractable roof. And it was cool then. But these days, 129s have found themselves in the hands of those who like the look of the car more than keeping them in good shape. So now we see many of these subject to distasteful mods and questionable rims. Not really one we’d pick, then, in 2014 at least.

What about the R230/R231? The exterior design by Bruno Sacco and Steve Mattin is pretty for sure, but I’ve never been a fan of the interior in the 230, although there was a big step up in the 231s. Still too early to say whether they are keepers or not at this stage.

So which would we pick? Our heart says Pagoda. That design will never age!

But our head goes for the W107. Let’s see whether all of those ideas in my head really comes to fruition. It’s always nice to dream.

What is your choice SL? We’ll leave you with an ad:

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